Cameron Plans 2 ‘Avatar’ Sequels

“I have a story worked out for the second film and the third film, but my lips are sealed”

Not only is "Avatar" coming, but the 3D sci-fi action adventure flick is a franchise in the making, director James Cameron said Thursday morning.

In a press conference in the UK, where "Avatar" is having its world premiere, Cameron told UK media outlets that he had planned stories for two more "Avatars."

"I have a story worked out for the second film and the third film, but my lips are sealed," he said. "So in terms of the pitch it was: OK, you’ve spent a lot of money on the first one; on the second one we’ll be able to amortize it and focus on the story and all that … and they bought that."

Cameron is apparently serious enough about turning his futuristic adventure into a multi-volume epic to have lined up star Sam Worthington for two additional installments. Worthington told Total Film that he has signed up for two more sequels.

Additionally, in a webcast from London, Cameron said that he "always planned on a sequel" to the film. Characteristically confident of "Avatar’s" blockbuster potential, the director — whose 1997 "Titanic" is, at $1.8 billion, the highest grossing film of all time — quipped, "I don’t see how we can lose."

With producer Jon Landau seated next to him, the director cited that he believed the 161-minute movie, which was over a decade in the making and is estimated to have a budget of $237 million, will be a success because its interstellar story has a "global reach" that will play well in international markets such as Russia and China, as well as Stateside, and "transcend all cultures."